‘Rocky Mountain Way’ is a 1973 song by rock guitarist Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm, with writing credits given to all four band members: Walsh, Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, and Joe Vitale. The song was originally released on the album The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get. After leaving his group the James Gang at the end of 1971, Joe Walsh moved from Cleveland to Boulder, Colorado, where he wrote this song, which celebrates the scenery and lifestyle of Colorado. In some ways, the song is a rocked-up version of John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High," which was released the previous year. Both songs use the famous Rocky Mountains as a focal point for the virtues of Colorado.
Walsh appeared in studio on The Howard Stern Show on June 12, 2012, and talked about how the lyrics to the song came to him in 1972 shortly after releasing his first solo effort, Barnstorm. "I'm living in Colorado and I'm mowing the lawn. I look up and there's the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and there's snow on them in the summer. And it knocked me back because it was just beautiful. And I thought, 'Well I have committed. I'm already in Colorado and it's too late to regret the James Gang. The Rocky Mountain way is better than the way I had, because the music was better.' I got the words. Bam!"
‘Rocky Mountain Way’ reflects Walsh's range of emotions after making the big move. He explained in the book The Guitar Greats: "I got kind of fed up with feeling sorry for myself, and I wanted to justify and feel good about leaving the James Gang, relocating, going for it on a survival basis. I wanted to say 'Hey, whatever this is, I'm positive and I'm proud', and the words just kind of came out of feeling that way, rather than writing a song out of remorse. It was special then, and the words were special to me, because the words were like, 'I'm goin' for it, the heck with feeling sorry for this and that', and it did turn out to be a special song for a lot of people. I think the attitude and the statement of that have a lot to do with it – it's a positive song, and it's basic rock'n'roll, which is what I really do."
This was one of the first songs to feature a talkbox, which allows a guitarist to make distorted vocalizations with his mouth. Peter Frampton is probably the most famous talkbox practitioner, and his use of the device is prominent on his famous 1976 album Frampton Comes Alive.
Label – ABC-Dunhill
Songwriters – Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale, Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli
Producers – Joe Walsh, Bill Szymczyk
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Spent the last year Rocky Mountain way
Couldn't get much higher
Out to pasture, I think it's safe to say
Time to open fire
[Chorus]
And we don't need the ladies crying ’cause the story's sad
‘Cause the Rocky Mountain way is better than the way we had
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Rocky mountain way, ooh
[Verse 2]
Well he's telling us this, he's telling us that, changing it everyday
Say's it doesn't matter
Bases are loaded and Casey's at bat, playing it play by play
It's time to change the batter
[Chorus]
And we don't need the ladies crying ’cause the story's sad, uh huh
‘Cause the Rocky Mountain way is better than the way we had
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Rocky mountain way, ooh
[Chorus]
And we don't need the ladies crying ’cause the story's sad, oh yeah
‘Cause the Rocky Mountain way is better than the way we had
[Outro]
It's better than the way we had
So much better
So much better
It's so much better
It's so much better
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Rocky Mountain way, ooooh